Publilia concava - No Common Name

Description: A highly variable species, with many color forms. Females are larger than males, and have a two-humped pronotum, with one above the head and the other midway on the pronotum. Males lack distinct peaks on their pronotum. There are prominent longitudinal ridges across the pronotum, which has a heavily punctate appearance. The legs are a yellowish-orange, and the lateral sides of the body and underside of the thorax and abdomen are black. Nymphs are bicolored, with black over a green base; they have small spines extending from the abdomen.

Distribution in North Carolina

County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.

Distribution: Eastern and central North America, east of the Rocky Mountains; also in Canada and Mexico (BG)

Abundance: Mostly restricted to the mountains, where it is common. Seasonal distribution: late May-7 October (CTNC)

Seasonal Occurrence

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Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Has been found in brushy vegetation near mixed hardwood, high elevation forest.

Behavior: To listen to the male courtship call for this genus, listen here. These courtship calls are not audible to the human ear, and the calls here are produced by recording the substrate vibrations that the treehoppers use to communicate through the plants themselves. The recorded call is then amplified so that it is now audible to human ears. Research has shown that treehoppers use vibrations to attract mates, to announce the discovery of a good feeding site, or to alert a defending mother to the approach of a predator (T.IM).

Comment: This species is frequently tended by ants in the genus Formica, and this relationship between ant and treehopper has been studied. Adult P. concava overwinter in leaf litter and emerge in the spring to mate. Males die soon after mating while the females select the proper site to lay their eggs. Both nymphs and adults are tended by ants, and ant tending has been shown to have a strong effect on the survival of nymphs to adult hood in this species. Female Publilia can actually sense the presence of ants and are more likely to oviposit on host plants where ants are present. Ants potentially offer predator protection to developing nymphs, or provide a form of maternal care that enables females the opportunity to exert resources and energy elsewhere, into producing a second brood of nymphs. For more on the relationship between ants and P. concava, see: (ADOM).